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Qin Shu bent down and picked up the frog statue, flipping it over in her hands. After a careful inspection, she found nothing special—it was just an ordinary-looking piece of stone.

She casually tossed it into her storage ring, unaware that the statue rolled around inside and ended up nestled among her spirit stones.

Having searched the garden thoroughly, Qin Shu found that anything remotely valuable had already been taken by earlier disciples.

She let out a sigh. It seems I was too late.

Just as she was about to leave, her Dujie Technique stirred again, making her stop in her tracks.

What is it this time...?

A wave of frustration surged within her. At this point, she wished the technique could just speak to her directly instead of giving her cryptic signals.

Annoyed, she sat cross-legged in the ruined pavilion, calming her mind to focus on this elusive feeling.

After a quarter of an hour, her eyes suddenly snapped open—her gaze locking onto a set of broken stone pillars in front of her.

They looked completely ordinary.

Qin Shu hesitated, then sent a small pulse of spiritual energy toward one of the pillars.

For a moment, nothing happened—then suddenly, one pillar flickered with white light as if buffering a paused scene. After a moment, a projection stabilized before her eyes.

A man and a woman appeared in the floating image—both golden-haired and blue-eyed. The background was this very pavilion, except in the image, it was still intact.

Qin Shu quickly understood—this pillar was actually a Memory Stone!

She sat there in silence, unintentionally watching a private romance drama in the middle of an overgrown ruin.

The man and woman embraced intimately, whispering sweet words. Just as they were about to share a kiss, a group of armored soldiers stormed in, surrounding them.

The beautiful woman gasped and stepped protectively in front of her lover.

A stern-looking middle-aged woman shouted something at them. A fierce argument broke out, and the young woman suddenly began chanting a spell.

A massive fire dragon materialized behind her.

Even though this was just a recorded memory, Qin Shu could still feel the heat and intensity radiating from the projection.

The entire sky seemed to ignite—the dragon roared, and enormous fireballs rained down from above.

"Holy sh—?!" Qin Shu shot up in shock, eyes wide with amazement.

She quickly studied the woman's lips, trying to catch the incantation that had summoned the dragon.

However, the next moment, the fire dragon charged straight at her.

Qin Shu instinctively rolled to the side, only to realize that the dragon passed through her and continued toward the soldiers behind her.

The middle-aged woman calmly raised a water barrier, protecting the group. Once the dragon's flames had died down, she lowered her shield and coldly ordered her men to seize the man.

To Qin Shu's shock, the man suddenly pulled the woman into his arms and pressed a dagger to her throat.

The look in the young woman's eyes was devastatingly heart-wrenching.

At that moment, the memory abruptly ended.

Qin Shu blinked. "What the hell? That's it?!"

What a tragic love story! She had expected a happy ending, but instead, she got a betrayal-filled drama.

However, what truly caught her attention was the fire dragon spell.

That technique was insanely powerful! If she could learn it, she'd definitely get a spot on the Eastern Continent's Power Rankings!

Without hesitation, she slammed her palm against the pillar.

Since she couldn't fully grasp the spell in one viewing, she might as well take the whole pillar back and study it later!

With the Memory Stone safely stored, the odd feeling from her Dujie Technique finally disappeared.

Qin Shu chuckled. "So this technique of mine is just nosy, huh? Can't resist a good drama?"

Though this trip wasn't entirely fruitful, she still gained a Memory Stone and a frog statue—both of which would make great decorations for her courtyard pond.

She scanned the area one last time, running Dujie Technique again to ensure she hadn't missed anything.

Finding nothing else, she headed toward her meeting spot with Chiyu and Hexin.

When she arrived, they were already waiting.

"So, did you find anything?" Qin Shu asked first.

Hexin shook her head. "Nothing. What about you?"

Qin Shu shrugged. "Picked up two rocks. Might use them to decorate my pond."

Both of them turned to Chiyu, who also shook her head. "Looks like this place has been completely picked clean. We should explore outside instead—maybe we'll find some medicinal herbs."

"Good idea. We still have three days left. If we gather more herbs, we can skip a couple of sect tasks when we get back." Hexin added.

The three of them agreed and left the central palace ruins behind.

Three days later, a loud rumbling sound echoed across the sky, like the roar of thunder.

Qin Shu paused her sword practice and looked up.

The once solid sky had begun to distort, its clouds and moonlight swirling like a Van Gogh painting.

The secret realm was collapsing—they were about to be sent back!

Qin Shu immediately woke up the others.

"Senior Sister, Hexin! Wake up! We're leaving!"

Chiyu and Hexin quickly opened their eyes.

However, to their shock, Qin Shu's body was already starting to turn transparent.

Hexin instinctively grabbed her snuff bottle and took a deep inhale. The next moment, all three of them were expelled from the realm.

When Hexin opened her eyes again, the snuff bottle was still clutched in her hand. She blinked, took another deep inhale, and let out a satisfied sigh.

Qin Shu, meanwhile, felt like she had been force-fed half a bottle of liquor—her head was spinning.

Seeing her in distress, Hexin handed her the snuff bottle.

"Here, take a hit. It helps."

Qin Shu took a deep inhale. Damn... that hit different.

The chatter of returning disciples filled the air as Elder Chengyan finally emerged from meditation.

His gaze swept over the crowd—most of the disciples had returned safely, with less than five casualties.

A successful mission.

Satisfied, he summoned his spirit boat, bringing the disciples back to the sect.

The moment Qin Shu arrived at the sect, she bolted straight to her mountain peak, setting up a barrier to prevent any disturbances.

Wen Chi tried sending her a message, but it was completely ignored.

He sighed. "That little rascal still owes me sixty years' worth of alchemy tasks... When will she ever pay me back?"

Meanwhile, inside her cave, Qin Shu cast a cleaning spell and immediately retrieved Xiao Xiao from her spatial jade pendant.

The little creature was still fast asleep.

After a quick spiritual scan, Qin Shu found no serious issues, so she finally relaxed.

Sensing the movement, Xiao Xiao woke up, blinking her big, black eyes before recognizing Qin Shu.

"Shushu! You finally let me out! I took two naps already!" she chirped, wrapping herself around Qin Shu's wrist, her fluffy tail wagging.

Qin Shu chuckled. "We've left the secret realm."

Hearing this, Xiao Xiao excitedly dashed toward the door—only to stop when Qin Shu warned:

"I'm going into seclusion for a few days. Stay inside the courtyard. If you get caught, I'm not saving you."

Xiao Xiao nodded obediently. "Okay! I won't run away!"

Once she was gone, Qin Shu finally checked her storage ring.

And then she froze.

"Wait... WHERE IS MY SPIRIT STONE?!

I had a huge, perfectly cut top-grade spirit stone—WHERE THE HELL DID IT GO?!"